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China Plans to Surpass the U.S. in Nanotech Development
SoyChemist writes "Sociologists at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting have reported that China is making major investments in nanotechnology. Their aim is to 'leapfrog' past the United States in technological development by focusing on long-ranging scientific goals. So far, the Chinese government has poured about $400 million into the young field of research. Considering the low cost of equipment and labor over there, that is a very large sum of money, and China's investment is expected to 'rise considerably.'"
The GP was referring to the Great Leap Forward:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Leap_Forward
No, it didn't work out very well.
Truth arises more readily from error than from confusion. -Francis Bacon
"Let's see - China had the sundial, sextant, gunpowder and circumnavigation of the planet under their belt long before the west stopped playing with dolls and you make a claim like that? "
Islam had the astrolab
Islam had sundials.
Islam was circumnavigating the world.
Islam had explosive gunpowder.
Sextants are derived from quadrants and astrolables, both Arab inventions.
Sundials were used by the ancient Egyptians and it's rather unlikely they got them from China -- it's probably something that's been invented many times in many places.
'Circumnavigation' appears to be an idea from Gavin Menzies' book and has little scholarly support (probably lots of *political* support) even in China and nothing resembling actual evidence, although like the Da Vinci Code it's probably going to be remembered as real history by hordes of idiots.
Manchu China was technologically and politically stagnant for a LONG time before the Japanese arrived, and Ming China had been technologically and politically stagnant for an even longer time before that, which is how the Manchurians were able to conquer China in the first place.
HTH
Whence? Hence. Whither? Thither.
I presume you're trolling, but Switzerland are actually in some areas leaders in medical research. So joke about chocolate and cuckoo clocks all you want, but when you get sick, there is a chance that some of the medicine that saves you will have been pioneered in Switzerland.
However, between trade deficits and government borrowing, we've been working really hard on sending that money over to China lately. So before long it may not make much sense for their best and brightest to come over here when they can get paid with US cash right in their own hometowns.
It's already happening. One of my professors left China in the 1970s but returned a couple of years ago. The Chinese government has set up an incentive scheme for top Chinese academics working abroad to come back to China - they're paying him a similar amount per year to what he was making in the UK, as well as a big initial bonus. Because the cost of living in China is so much lower, it's a big quality-of-life improvement.
Quoth the poster "What scares people about China is not that it is getting ahead but that we're open to their citizens but they are not really open to us"
I must disagree. I've been to China, and I'm going back soon. It was _very_ easy to obtain a visa as an American citizen.
I have a very dear friend in China who wanted to come here. She could not obtain a visa - a tourist visa - to visit the USA. The requirements and the questions asked are amazingly intrusive. It is very difficult for a citizen of the PRC to obtain a tourist visa to come to the USA.
Hmm, there have been so many replies already, but I do not really see anyone reporting too much of an inside view.
I have been living/working in China for some time (in a Chinese tech company) and my girlfriend works in one of the few larger Chinese multimedia content provider companies. The development (regarding the complete scientific devlopment, but Nanotech in particular) I see is:
1. The goverment invests a lot in new technologies, but mostly trying to spark corporate investments (they keep their money rather for the Olympic games / military equipment / other means of keeping control of that huge country). So basically I think, the Chinese government could spend a lot more money if they wanted. It is doing the big "blabla" to, one the one hand make their own people happy (kinda propaganda), and on the other hand to fire this wonderful sense of competition the other countries have with the 'Red Giant'.
2. There are a lot of ingenious scientists in China. There is vast number of universities in the country and if a person is really smart, then the chances that he/she will raise to the top are very good. Regardless of the average level of the universities, selection is made and the best people do go to the top universities (Tsing Hua / Beijing Da Xue / maybe Fudan) It is undeniable that there is a huge amount of interlectual potential in the country.
3. On the other hand is the difference in niveau between one of the top universities and one of the average universities severe. The purpose of average universities in China is not to breed excellence but good standard techicians for the factories. So, in contrast to a not so numerous elite, there are a lot of average graduates, who are quite unlikely to make huge discoveries in Nanotechnology etc.
What I want to say with 2. and 3. is, that the scientific progress in China should neither be overrated nor underrated. There is no need to panic because of a future invasion of millions of brilliant scientists from China, nor is there zero potential. This goes for Nanotechnology as well: of course Chinese scientists are also researching the field with sponsorship from the goverment, but for sure they will not come out with THE huge new development like Jack in the box.
Regarding the 'Zi Zhu Chuang Xin': this is not the Chinese way of overstating their potential to the world. If one has ever checked on Chinese names for shops etc. in Shanghai or Beijing you might find a lot of "Zhu's wonderful shoeshop - the best shoeshop in the world". This is just a tradition in giving names, nothing more. Actually some Americans might be quite familiar with this kind of thing..
4. The older generation in China (40 upwards) has lived parts of their lifes in a very limited, sometimes very poor, sometimes very oppressed environment (one child policy only one example): now that the country is opening up this has several consequences (which do have direct impact on the Nanotech debate, I dont wanna be off-topic): People have a tremendous strive to use their new freedom to become as rich as the people they see evryday on tv or cruising their Beamer through Shanghai. This makes them strong and this gives them this energy that the west is so affraid about. This gives them interest in exploring and exploiting new technologies.
5. People grow reckless. Their cultural education was anihilated and forbidden during the cultural revolution. Now, for many people, the only ideal they have is money. It is wrong to think that the Chinese as such stand for their nation and want to exploit the other countries. Nothing could be further from the truth. Most people are fed up with their country. They will act with an ellbow-mentality not only to foreign people but also amongst themselves.
So also for 4. and 5.: People are very strong and forward thinking, but not without their (given the circumstances) quite natural flaws. It is true that many of the average Chinese people will outrun an average westerner in drive to become wealthy and successful. But also
-- LP-Research